An Island Tale
by klaroworld
Summary: When criminal Caroline Forbes' airplane crashes on an uninhabited island, the thing she expects the least is falling for Klaus Mikaelson, a handsome southern conman. In this LOST crossover, expect the unexpected.
1. Chapter 1: The Awakening

**Hi! So it took me over a month to write this chapter. I know, crazy. It was totally worth it, however. This story is going to be a Klaus and Caroline fanfiction in a Lost au where they are Sawyer and Kate. This chapter doesn't really consist of a lot of KC though, because I was focusing more on explaining the story. Not to fear though! The next chapter will feature so much KC that you'll be begging for Klamille (I sure hope not). I want to dedicate this chapter to Salma and Mela, two of the members of the trio Salmelandy. I really hope they enjoy it, and I hope you enjoy it to. And oh, Julie Plec, if you're reading this? I hope you enjoy the story. **

**Be sure to comment what you think will happen, your thoughts, what I could improve on... anything, really! **

**Love, **

** Amanda**

* * *

Since the commencement of time, the planet Earth has been prone to accidents. They are tragic, perilous, and mortifying, but we never seem to acknowledge just how lamentable they are until they transpire to us. On September 22nd of 2004, an airplane filled with strangers crashed onto an uninhabited island in the middle of Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles. Dozens of strangers, destined to become friends. For some of them, however, maybe even more.

An eerily handsome man in an ebony and white suit laid on the jungle floor, silent like the night. Ironically, the world around him was anything but silent. Crickets chirped, their whispers aimed with the goal of waking him up. And so he did. With a great gasp, Stefan Salvatore's forest green eyes clicked open. Fear quickly swept through him as he took in his surroundings. Stalks of bamboo performed as his temporary shelter, until a rustling in the bushes made him aware that he wasn't alone.

Stefan was deathly frightened. All he wanted to do was call out his father's name. Unfortunately, he was well aware that if he moved, he was dead. So he remained on the ground, until an innocent yellow lab made his presence known. He chuckled to himself, knowing just how ridiculous of a situation this was. Then he gave the dog another look. It was staring at him, comforting him during his time of need.

Finally, the lab turned and plodded back into the forest, giving Stefan the sign that it was okay to get up. Slowly, he attempted to turn over, but there was a throbbing pain on his back that averted him from doing so effortlessly. He somehow managed to get to his feet, reaching into his jacket pocket for a miniature bottle of bourbon. For a moment, Stefan stared at his old friend, considering if he should welcome him, or deem him a demon.

Before he could make his decision, however, a frighteningly loud banging noise filled the air. Stefan, being the hero that he was, had to find out what it was. He ran with as much expeditiousness as he could, brushing through the thick green bamboo forest as he placed the bottle back in his pocket.

It was a truly magical moment as he brushed out of the forest and onto the beach. The ocean glistened resplendent blue and green colors if nothing in the world was wrong. A quick glance to the right, though, told Stefan otherwise. It looked like a warzone. Dozens of people, some of them injured, ran frantically around plane wreckage and scattered fires, screaming. He froze, too traumatized by the people who surrounded him.

All of a sudden, a man shouted, and Stefan turned towards the source of the loud noise. He was trapped under two rows of airplane seats, just ten feet away from the side of the malfunctioning engine. Without hesitation, Stefan knew what he had to do. He made his way towards the man as fast as he could, catching onto brief clips of other peoples' conversations.

A handsome Korean man hollered his wife's name breathlessly. "Sun! Sun!" Meanwhile, our hero zoomed past a strikingly beautiful twenty-year-old brunette. While her tears trailed on her baby pink zipped sweatshirt to her matching skirt, she screeched,"Matty!" at the top of her lungs.

Stefan finally reached the man under the seats. His eardrums almost bled from the deafening hum of the engine, but he refused to allow himself to be selfish. He _couldn't_ be selfish. Not like his father, Damon, had been that day in the operating room. As sweat spilled from his skin and his face turned a brilliant red color, he endeavored to push the row of seats off the man. "Damn it", he mumbled to himself, more frustrated than he had ever been on his many years in the world. Just then, a group of men passed by. "You there", Stefan shouted to a balding old man and a redhead. "Can you help me..."

"Yeah, sure." Together, they lifted the chair up, and pushed the man to the side. Stefan ripped off his tie, and proceeded to tie it around his bleeding leg like only a doctor would. As he tied the leg, he looked around the chaotic scene and found dozens of other emergencies that deserved dire attention. A 60 year old woman laid unconscious on the sand, with a honey haired boy trying to revive her. Across the field of debris, a pregnant woman leaned on her knees, struggling to stand. She was all alone. Stefan yelled, "Move him somewhere safe", as he sped over towards the beautiful dark-skinned girl with greater speed than a fugitive on the run.

Paying little attention to the fatigue he was beginning to experience, the hero arrived just in time to help her up. She fell again, and he repeated the process. A tear fell down the girl's face. "I'm having contractions…"

Stefan rested his hand on her back, and aided her in laying down on the crystal white sand. He gazed at the fiery orb called the sun, and back at the sweat that was falling down the woman's face. "How many months along are you?"

The woman's single tear duplicated into many more, that fell down her face like rain falls from gray clouds. "It's been almost eight months now."

He turned his head towards the young man who was still trying to revive the old lady. Stefan glanced back at the incredibly beautiful Australian woman. "Would you mind telling me how far apart they are?"

"I'm not sure... I know a few of them just happened but I'm not very good at counting them."

"Okay here's what we're-" He was interrupted by the screams of a man as he got sucked into the airplane's engines as it exploded. Debris littered the air, and fell on top of the two of them like snow falls on Christmas. Only, this certainly didn't feel like Christmas. The girl let out a little shriek, and it became obvious she'd lived a life protected from bloody tragedies. Not Stefan, though. He allowed himself five seconds to be afraid, to be terrified, and then composed himself. "What's your name?"

She made what appeared to be her attempt at a smile during a painful moment. It quickly dwindled away, leading to another declaration of terror. "I'm Bonnie, sir. Bonnie Bennett."

"Bonnie, everything is going to be alright. I promise." He searched the debris, and made eye contact with an obese, but friendly, giant who was passing by. His curly brown hair bounced up and down as he listened to his walkman, distracting himself from the disturbing event that had just taken place. "Excuse me. Would you mind keeping an eye on my friend?"

"Yeah, sure." Just then, the man noticed her blossoming stomach, and began to make a whimper-like noise. "Uh, dude- I can't…"

Stefan grinned ever so slightly, comforting both of them even though they'd both just took a trip to hell and back. It was the facial expression he always did back in the hospital, using his most discreet bedside manner. "Thanks." He wiped his face with a piece of his torn black jacket as he began to run away."

"Wait!" Bonnie shouted, and he turned around. "What's your name?"

He spun around faster than light, amazing the girl. "Stefan. Stefan Salvatore." With that, our hero continued his journey with the goal of saving everyone.

* * *

The jungle was a place that many animals called their home. Beatles lived in the crisp brown leaves, and green vines hung from the rare breed of palm trees. In addition, a Banyan tree could be seen in the distance, with its roots serving as a cage-like structure around the trunk itself. Even farther away, bamboo stalks intersected with uncut grass. With the beach just ahead, it was the kind of place that just married couples would choose as their honeymoon destination. How ironic it was, then, that nobody was filled with glee.

Caroline Forbes rubbed her pale wrist, attempting to get rid of the baby pink imprint those idiotic silver handcuffs had placed on her as she walked inside of the jungle curiously. The moment she'd crashed on the island, she'd felt a distinct urge to leave the beach. There were too many people there, and she didn't do so well around people. Perhaps that was the true reason why, then, she was always running. Always so afraid.

She pulled her fair blonde hair into a high ponytail. For most people this look would make them look casual, boring. However, something stood out about Caroline. Something had _always _stood out about Caroline. At the mere age of twenty-six, she was one of the most wanted people in her state. Until she was caught. She sat on a big Boulder, as she began to sniffle. Why had this happened to her, out of all people? Thousands of people were transported to prisons via airplane each year, and yet _she_ was the one who crashed on an uninhabited island.

"You know, you looked so much better without that damn ponytail on. Makes you look like you aren't trying as hard. Unless, that's the look you're going for." Caroline crossed her arms against her chest, to see a dirty blonde haired man sporting a cocky grin while treading towards her. _He's handsome. Very handsome_, she noted. She then focused on her eyes, and saw that wasn't all that was to him. He was damaged. Even while smiling he looked in pain. He reminded Caroline a bit too much of herself.

A small smile crawled across her face, as she took in his southern accent that sounded not so far off from the ones she heard back home in Iowa. "I don't remember asking for your opinion. In fact, I don't remember asking you for anything."

"Well, freckles, you've got it. Mind if I call you freckles?"

"Actually yes, I do. My freckles are nobody's business but my own."

His own smile widened, and his face immediately showed signs of delight as he puffed on his cigarette. "Wow, you've sure got some sass. I like sass."

Caroline sighed. "Do you really think I haven't heard it before? Little Red Riding Hood? I know people like you. Big Bad Wolves who will say anything to get a girl. Sadly, I'm not like most girls."

She stood up, and walked towards the beach, leaving an amused Klaus Mikaelson by himself in the woods. "I'll take that as a challenge," he called out, as he scurried the other way, already knowing a shortcut that would get him back on the beach minutes before her.

* * *

Stefan Salvatore bolted across the glimmering littoral, focus showering his brain. He determinately reached the elderly woman, and pushed aside the honey haired boy with great strength. "You're doing it wrong", he explained gently. "Her head has be farther back or else you're just blowing air into her stomach."

The boy, Matthew Donovan, who couldn't be any older than twenty-four years old, shook his head skeptically. "Are you positive? I'm a lifeguard. I'm even licensed. I think I'd know-" He stopped talking. He knew that he was only wasting time, although he didn't want to risk his pride by admitting it out loud.

Stefan crossed his hands, and placed them on the woman's chest, immediately beginning his work. As the son of one of Los Angeles' most esteemed doctors, he was certainly more qualified for this kind of situation than a teenage little lifeguard at an opulent pool club was. Breath, breath, pump, pump, pump, breath...

"That's what I was doing!" Matt complained. When he was ignored by the doctor, he quickly brainstormed through his head for a way to do his part. "Hey, I was thinking. Maybe we should do one of those hole procedures they show on T.V. all the time, you know, where you stick a pen in her throat?"

Once again, irritation swept through Stefan. All this meddling child was doing was getting in the way. "Sure! What a great idea! Go find me one!" The kid, not sensing his sarcasm, sprinted into oblivion. _Finally_, thought Stefan. _Peace_.

He had chosen inopportune timing, considering what happened approximately one and a half seconds later. A loud, forceful whimper gathered the attention of every living soul within hearing distance, causing even the weakest of them to stare at its origin. _Holy mother of God. _The seventy-five foot wing pointed into the heavens. It took a break from swinging for a moment, reminding Stefan of a child's loose tooth that suddenly became stable the moment he or she decided to pull it out. He knew what happened to childrens' teeth, even though he himself had never gotten around to having one. Eventually, they came out.

Lying in the sand, somehow the only creatures left unaware of the hazardous situation, were Bonnie and Hurley. As dismay struck him from head to toe, Stefan worked harder at saving the woman. Pump. Pump. "Come on", he shouted, his voice growing wary. "Come on!"

As fuel sprayed from the wing, the woman's eyes clicked open. Gasping for breath, she whispered, "Bernard." Stefan quickly glanced at the ring on her finger, and then patted her on the back as if she was an old friend. Rose, her name was. He remembered her telling him on the airplane.

But now was not the time for remembrance. Now was the time for action. Out of breath, he sped over to Hurley and Bonnie, and shouted, "Get out of the way! It's going to fall!"

Hurley's deer-like eyes widened. "But you told us to stay here." Then, after looking up, a squeal came to his lips. "Oh shit. Move, Bonnie, Move!"

Stefan practically dragged the two of them into safety, just before the wing came crashing down with such velocity, that it felt like...

"The Flash." murmured Hurley, as the wing landed on a piece of fiery engine debris, causing a vast explosion and resulting in many fleeing the beach. "It came crashing down like The Flash."

* * *

Caroline hummed softly to herself as she hiked to the beach. She had never been to a beach before; small towns like her own were far from them. _Here I am_, she thought humorously, _a criminal pushing through the tangled vines in the middle of nowhere while singing Drive Shaft songs_. _That ought to be-_

_Crunch, crack, swish, crunch,._

She froze, alarmed by the sound of rustling in the bushes. Although she was very well aware of the possibility of it only being a rabbit, she was only paying attention to the other possibility. Before her mother's dark days, she had once told her that that the best way to ward off a bear was to stand still, making no movement. However, running was her pollen, and she was the bee that couldn't resist it. She ran and ran and ran, just like Jack did after the giant caught him hovering in his mansion set in the clouds. Then, she stopped.

A man. He was handsome, just like the intriguing man she'd met in the forest, but in more of a ghostly way. He ripped off his torn jacket, and threw it onto the ground. This did not make him look more socially acceptable; for a thick cut lined his stomach. He stared at a piece of the plane, where the flirty southern man she'd met just a few moments before smoked another cigarette. "Excuse me."

Although skilled at running, Caroline wasn't as efficient at hiding. She revealed herself, signaling for him to continue talking. "Did you ever use a needle?"

Disoriented. Confused. About to cry. She was all of those things. "I…I sewed my mother a pillow once, in my high school art class."

"Would you mind… cleaning me up? I'd do it myself, being that I'm a doctor and all, but I can't reach it."

Caroline gaped, stricken with disbelief. "You want me to give you stitches?" She then saw how innocent he looked, how desperate he seemed, and sighed. "Fine."

He handed her a small bottle of alcohol, alongside a threaded needle. "You're going to have to sterilize the needle."

Her skin turned as white as snow, as she poured the bourbon onto the silver needle. _You, can do this, Caroline. You've been through far worse than having to sew someone up. In fact, this might even be a positive change. Oh, who I am I kidding, what am I going to do? Okay. just think happy thoughts. Think about warm and fuzzy bunnies. _"Bunnies," she said out loud, and suddenly broke into tears. Her tears served as a hurricane, splashing onto the dirt, converting it into mud. It was if all of those years of not crying, all of those years of holding it all in, had come back to haunt her.

Stefan's hand reached out to hers, but she politely rejected it. "I'm okay," she said, to convince herself more than him. "I just don't understand. How can you remain so calm, so unafraid? After all we've been through..."

"When I was in residency, my first solo procedure was a spinal surgery on a sixteen-year-old girl. At the end of it, I was sewing her up… and I accidentally ripped her dural sac. It's at the base of the spine, where all the nerves come together. Membrane as thin as tissue. So it ripped open - the nerves just spilled out like angel hair pasta- her spinal fluid flowing out and I just... froze. 'Cause I knew. If I didn't get those nerves back in that sack and sew it up... those thirteen hours were for nothing, that girl would be paralyzed. I had about a minute. And all the assistants were just watching me, I could feel their eyes. And the terror was so... crazy, so real... and I knew I had to deal with it. So I just made a choice. I'd let the fear in. Let it take over. Let it do its thing." He paused, to make sure she was still listening. "But only for five seconds. That's all I was gonna give it. So I started to count to five. One, two, three, four, five. And it was gone. I got back to work. Sewed her up. She was fine."

* * *

The hours passed by quickly, which was ironic considering the crash survivors were having anything but fun. Day turned into night, and alliances quickly formed among the diverse crowd. A handsome English rockstar named Jeremy sat next to Bonnie by the bonfire, while Hurley handed out peanuts and sandwiches from the plane to the passengers.

In the distance, Vicki Donovan sat on a purple towel, painting her toenails baby blue besides a smaller fire. Her older brother, Matt, sat close enough to guard her protectively, yet far enough to please her. After a moment of debate, he strolled over, and held out a chocolate bar. "You want it?"

Vicki looked up with surprise, and, for a second, delight. Then, she stuck up her perfect little nose, and said, "Like a plane crash is going to make me give up my vegan diet."

"Since when have you been a vegan? Come on, Vick. It's going to be a while."

"I can go a day without eating if I have to." Silence. "They have to. The plane had a black box, They're coming. I can feel it." She paused for another moment, and then laughed. "Hold on, let me guess. You don't think anyone is coming for us."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure they're not."

She looked into the distance, after placing the wet paint brush back into the bottle. "Why?"

Matt smirked. "Because you're so sure they are." This resulted in a slap in the face, and some name calling. In response, he muttered, "I may be an asshole, but I'm still utterly concerned for your survival, for reasons even I don't understand." He offered her the candy bar once again.

"I'll eat on the rescue boat." She went back to painting her nails, as Matt took a reluctant bite into the chocolate bar.

Meanwhile, Stefan and Caroline stood in the distance, using a piece of wreckage as a table. He held up a model airplane, floating it in the air as he mimicked the very plane they'd been on just a few hours beforehand. "It must have happened when at about 40,000 feet, when we hit a pocket of dead air. We dropped. It had to have been, say, 200 feet. Then turbulence followed, the worst I've ever experienced. But turbulence doesn't bring down a plane.

"So what does?"

"Electrical power went in and out... I'm pretty sure the hydraulics went out too. That must have lasted..."

"Five minutes," Caroline interrupted firmly. "Then there was a stress on the plane. That's when the tail broke away." The memory was painful to address, but someone had to do it.

Stefan snapped off the tail, causing her to flinch. She still didn't understand. Why was this man so incapable of expressing any emotion, of releasing his inner demons? "We went out of control. Dropping, flipping, spinning... I blacked out after that."

She looked away, and watched the cigarette yielding man take a piece of yellowing paper out of his pocket, read it, and then cautiously place it back where he retrieved it from. "I was conscious the whole time. I saw everything. Saw the bodies being ripped out of the airplane seats, felt the screams of fellow passengers echo in my ears. And then... then the front section came apart."

Swallowing her tears, she mumbled, "We crashed around five seconds later."

He put a hand on his new friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry. The front end of the fuselage isn't on the beach. Neither's the tail. I woke up about five hundred yards away from the beach... I must have fallen out. Anyway, we should probably-"

"MWWWWWWWOOOORRRRRRROOOOAAARRRRRROOOORRRRRRRRRRROOORRRRR"

A eardrum-popping, heart-pounding, horrific noise filled the air, causing Caroline to instinctively cover her ears. It was deafening; it sounded like what she'd imagined dinosaurs sounded like. After adjusting to the noise, she waited for Stefan to look up as well. The man from the forest ran over to them, followed by a whole group of people.

In that simple moment, it became clear that they weren't alone anymore. As the trees swished back and forth, and an unknown creature seemingly stomped throughout the forest, they huddled together, forming a protective shield around each other. When the noise settled down, Jeremy Gilbert addressed the crowd with a hushed whisper. "Terrific."


	2. Chapter 2: Before the Smoke Disappears

**Hello guys! So before you read this chapter, I want to give you a warning; I don't think I've ever written such a violent chapter, ever. I really enjoyed writing it though, and exploring Klaus and Caroline's characters. I really hope you enjoy reading it as well. Have a Klaroday! (I'm so lame).**

* * *

The waves crashed, causing foam to arise on top of the blueish green water. Just behind the waves was a peach colored sun, serving as proof of the forthcoming day. Laying on the sand were the Oceanic 815 survivors, welcoming the day with overwhelming excitement. In one of Shakespeare's finest tales,, Lady Macbeth wanted it to be night so that the heavens couldn't see her sins. How ironic was it that the most sinful of them all, the parasites who plagued the Earth with their deadly lies and foolish mistakes, relished in the sun as if they had never seen it before.

Although her new peers were just awakening, hugging each other with relief due to the fact they'd survived the terrifying night, Caroline had never fallen asleep. She'd stayed awake, counting the shimmering stars that called the night their home. She closed her eyes, savoring the last moment of silence. Then, the hyenas awakened.

"It wasn't natural", insisted Rose. "Although, that sound it made - It just felt so familiar."

Vicki looked at her doubtfully, as she applied some waterproof mascara on her pale face. "Really? Where the hell are you from, Jurassic Park?"

Rose glared, and it was clear that war was about to break out. "Actually, honey, I'm from the Bronx. But I'm telling you, I've heard that noise before."

Jeremy jumped in front of Vicki, faithfully defending her even though they were practically strangers. "Hey, hey, hey. For all we know it could've been a wolf."

This resulted in a laugh that seemingly resembled a howl from Klaus. "A wolf, really? That's the best you've got, Little-"

"Hey!", shouted Caroline, as loud as she possibly could. Everyone immediately silenced, shocked that someone was actually taking authority. "Could everyone just shut up for one Goddamn second? Last night… I saw smoke. Right after the noises. I didn't tell you guys, because I didn't want to cause more stress. But I think… it could be another part of the airplane. The front of airplanes, they always have radios. If we could find a radio, it could be our ticket off this island. Now, personally, I'd rather not spend the rest of my life eating mangos and sleeping under plane wreckage. So I was thinking about going to where I saw the smoke, to see what's there. Does anyone wanna go with me?"

Stefan practically pushed his way next to her, and it became clear that he couldn't resist being the hero, even if it was just for a few hours. "Me. I'll go with you."

She nodded, and scanned the group for more volunteers. "Anybody else?" They all looked petrified of the very thought of entering the very jungle of which they'd heard primitive noises. All but one person.

Klaus raised his hand. but only up to his eyes, so that it didn't seem like he was that eager to go. "What the hell else am I supposed to do 'round here, it's not like theres a damn stable or something."

Surprise filled Caroline, and she looked at him as if for the first time. She looked into his eyes, of a rare color that matched the ocean perfectly, and saw a lost soul. A lost soul that just needed someone to save him. "You like horses?"

He blushed, and looked down at the sand, frowning. "What, you making fun of me now?"

She shook her head, still lost in his eyes. "I'm not making fun of you", she said softly, as his head lifted up, with the hope of a child. "Believe me, that's the last thing I'm doing. I just… I never thought someone like you would be so…"

He crossed his arms, but Caroline swore she could see a tiny little smile forming underneath his frown. "So what?"

"So human."

Before he could respond, an antsy Stefan interrupted. "Ahem." He lifted his bushy eyebrows, and then dropped them again. "Shouldn't we be going? Before the smoke disappears?"

Once in a while, we experience life altering moments. These moments, often called epiphanies, take us by complete surprise, and cause us to forget everything we were doing beforehand. After having an epiphany, nothing is the same. Caroline Forbes had just had an epiphany. And even though Stefan Salvatore had shattered a truly magical moment before it could fully engage her, the side effects were still there. Because just in that short moment, that fragile, frail moment, without even knowing it, without even knowing his name, Caroline Forbes had fallen for Klaus Mikaelson.

* * *

They hiked through the jungle, with Stefan leading them, pushing away astray with a long, moss covered brown stick. Minutes passed like cars on a highway, speeding away without anyone able to stop them. Caroline glanced at Klaus, debating for a moment whether it was the right time to chat. _Well_, she decided, _better now than never._ "So what's your name?"

Klaus jumped a bit, taken by surprise. "Um…"

"Please", said Caroline, rolling her eyes as she plodded up a hill. "Take your time."

"Sawyer", Klaus said quickly, almost a little too quickly. "My name is Sawyer. Why?" He smiled wickedly. "You into me?"

Her jaw widened, and her cheeks flushed bright pink. "Ew, please! Just… just forget I ever tried to make conversation with a pig like you."

Klaus shrugged, giving his signature obnoxious grin, even though he felt overwhelming guilt. _Great move dumbass_, he thought to himself. _Lie about your name to the only person on this damn island who might care about you. Well, if she did care about me, somehow, she sure as hell doesn't care about me no more._

But she did. As they walked through a meadow, she cared about him more than ever before. They may have only known each other for a day, but she couldn't shake this unbreakable feeling, that there was something more to him, that his sarcasm was the shell to the kind man underneath him. Not that she was a kind person herself. She'd been arrested for murder, after all. One accidental murder that brought guilt to her every single day, and one that she couldn't feel any less sorry for. It didn't stop her from crying herself to sleep every single night, though. She wondered if he cried himself to sleep too.

"You guys!" A voice called from far ahead. "If you're done flirting, you may want to see this." At that exact moment, the sky darkened, and rain began to fall. Drip, drop. Drop, drip.

"Alright", she shouted, running towards Stefan as 'Sawyer' followed her. "We're on our way."

At first she only saw the cockpit; the compartment of the plane where the pilot would stay. Then, reality sunk in. It wasn't just the cockpit, it was the entire front section of the airplane. It rested against a ginormous tree, smashed like a window after a baseball has been sent through it. The three of them exchanged a look, equally flabbergasted on what to do next. Caroline searched the wreckage, not knowing what she was exactly looking for. Finally, she spotted it. "Over here!"

Once they came to her, she pointed at a small opening, and waited for their approval. After being given it, she got as flat as she could on her stomach, and squeezed herself into the front section of the plane. As she stood up, she took in the most dreadful site she had ever seen during all of her years on the planet. The overhead compartments hung open, some with suitcases having fallen out of them. Rain leaked in through holes in the ceiling, making her feel less safe than she thought she'd be. The last sight was the most dreary of them all; half a dozen yellowing bodies sat still in their chairs.

A mournful look spread across Klaus' face when he entered the room. _Huh_, she thought. _He does have a heart_. He glared at Stefan, as if he'd forced him to come against his will. "Just get the machinery and we'll be on our merry way."

The plane was faced upwards, so in order to climb towards the pilot's section they had to hold onto the seats. Stefan, once again, went first, followed by Caroline, and then Klaus. It was completely silent, if you ignored the raindrops and the sound of their hands gripping the leather seats, desperately grabbing on for their lives so that they didn't fall. Stefan reached to open the cockpit door, but the doorknob broke off. He sighed, put his hand inside of the hole, and pulled the door open.

All of a sudden, the copilot's body came rushing out of the door, and landed next to Klaus. He lightly screamed, shocked. This resulted in a solemn, but, nevertheless, smirk, from Caroline. "I was just…"

"It's okay", Caroline insisted teasingly. "We all get afraid sometimes."

He huffed. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"If this means watching you suffer than yes, I am enjoying this very much."

Stefan didn't let what had just happened shake him. He crawled into the cockpit, his eyes widening at what was in there. Rain poured through the shattered windows, with broken tree branches and damp leaves covering the view of the outside. The instrument panel was broken, and wires were exposed. The pilot slumped in his seat, lifeless. He looked back at Caroline protectively. "Hey, you don't have to come in here."

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine." To brighten up the situation, she gave a sassy smile, and eyed Klaus. "But I don't know if Sawyer is."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Easy there, Freckles. Don't get too cocky."

Her mouth widened, and she laughed. "Oh, so now I'm the cocky one? And don't call me Freckles, it makes me feel like Little Orphan Annie."

"Damn it you two", shouted Stefan. "Do you want to get off the island or not? Sawyer. I'm gonna need you to help me find the transceiver."

"Sure, Doc. What does it look-" He was interrupted by the pilot, who suddenly jolted, awake. Caroline gasped, and moved aside so that a shocked Doctor Stefan could look at the disoriented man. She handed him a bottle of water from her backpack at his command, all of which the man consumed in a single gulp. After coughing some of it up, the man tried to speak.

"How many… how many…"

"At least forty-eight, including you."

The man turned to Caroline, pain from both his injuries and this new knowledge of loss affecting him. "How many hours… how many hours has it been?"

"Sixteen." This resulted in the man laughing weakly, and shaking his head.

"Sixteen hours? And nobody's come, right? Well, let me tell you something. Six hours into the flight, our radio went out. Nothing was functioning. Not the transponder, not the redundant system… Nobody could see us. So we, me and Pete, decided to turn back. To land in Fiji, home of the fresh water. Then we hit that turbulence… we were over a thousand miles off course then. If they're looking for us, if anyone is looking for us, they're looking for us in the wrong place."

The pilot let the trio sink this information into their heads, and then unbuckled his seatbelt, reaching his hand out. "We have a transceiver, right over there." He pointed towards the panel.

She looked through a compartment, and pulled out a damaged radio. Caroline handed it to him, and he began to work on it. "Damn it! It's not working."

"It's okay", Klaus said, "You can fix-" He was interrupted once again, this time by the same horrifying noise they'd heard the night before.

"MROOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR." All of their eyes bulged out of their sockets.

"It's right outside", Caroline whispered, swearing she'd heard the exact lines spoken in a horror movie before. She wasn't exactly a superstitious person, but she'd heard somewhere that the first person to speak was always the first one to be killed by the chainsaw guy.

A few moments passed, and a relieved Stefan said, "I think it's-" At that very moment, the pilot's body got yanked up, his legs hitting the window repeatedly due to the fact they got stuck in the branches. Caroline screamed, louder than she'd ever screamed in her entire life. The pilot did as well, as he cried and wept, begging someone to help him. But it was too late. The Monster had already gotten him. The pilot hit the window again, and continued screaming, just like everyone inside of the plane was. "Come on!", she shouted, as they all scrambled to get out of the cockpit.

Stefan leapt to grab the transceiver off the pilot's seat, and followed Klaus and Caroline as they slid down the aisle, riding the slide of hell. They squeezed through the crack once again, and ran away from the plane as fast as they could. "Everybody run!"

And so the three of them did, as fast as they could, away from the monster. It began to thunder now, proving that the worst things come at the worst times. The Monster followed them; Caroline could hear it catching up to them, gaining momentum and speed. Finally, she knew that she wouldn't be able to run forever, and decided to test her luck by hiding. Grabbing Klaus, who was the only person within arm distance, she slipped inside of the branches and vines of a 90-foot tall tree, hoping that it was enough to give her protection. She began to whisper to herself, terrified. "One, two, three."


	3. Chapter 3: Into the Woods

_Thump. Thump. Thum. Thu. Th. T…_

As quickly as The Monster had entered their world, it faded away. Klaus opened his mouth to speak, but Caroline pressed her index finger against his lips' smooth surface, untrusting of the silence. Minutes escaped their grasp, and she and Klaus remained inside of the tree's grip, protected. At last, their names began to echo through the forest. "Caroline?! Sawyer?"

Her light blue eyes interlocked with Klaus' cold ones. She arched an eyebrow. _Is it safe to go out there?, _she asked him mentally. He responded with a shrug. He didn't have to send a message for his thoughts to reach her; she knew. Klaus was waiting for her command, because he trusted her own senses more than his. After a moment of debating, she pushed her way through the leaves. "Stefan! Is that you?!"

Klaus smirked, shaking his head back and forth. "Who else would be calling our names in a jungle located in the middle of an uninhabited island God knows where…"

She punched him lightly, as Stefan ran over to them. "Did either of you see that thing? What it looked like? How big it was? Where it went?" They shook their heads, both wishing they had. It hadn't really occurred to take notes for investigations while fighting for their lives.

Caroline began to walk, and then found herself tripping on a round object. With closer examination, it was revealed to be a mango. _Well, that leaves starving to death out of my possible causes of demise. _She sighed, and looked at the two boys.. "We should get going. The others are probably worried sick about us."

Klaus nodded, and moved his hand sideways as a gesture of approval. "Lead the way, love."

"Okay." She skipped a little around a fallen tree, of which was covered with moss that had a mint green hue. Leaves that had grown brown with age crunched as her feet made contact with them, and violet dragonflies stalked her every move. Just then, she spun around, eyeing him suspiciously. "Did you just call me _love_?"

* * *

Later that day, an adorable boy around ten years of age, pondered through the jungle. Walt Lloyd was well aware that his father would be outraged to find him away from the beach, but he didn't like being told what to do. Kicking a pebble like a soccer ball, he called his dog's name. "Vincent! Vincent, where are you boy? Vincent, come here!" After running around a little, he stopped. He bent down, and lifted up a familiar red leash.

Walt then tilted his head, and then continued to plod around the jungle, calling his yellow lab's name. "Vincent? Come here, boy." He paused for a second, growing doubtful. "Vincent?"

His eyes then widened, as a shiny silver object caught his eye. He picked it up, rubbing his fingers around the curved edges. "Walt", a familiar voice shouted, causing him to roll his eyes. "What the hell are you doing out here in the jungle?"

"I just thought… I thought… I wanted to find Vincent."

His father, Michael, looked down at his son with sorrow. He placed his hands on his son's shoulders, and began to talk. "Didn't you hear what I told you - To stay on the beach with the rest of us? After everything we've been through… I can't lose you again." He frowned, looking at the special gift the jungle had given Walt. "What's that?"

Smiling as if he'd won the lottery, Walt lifted a pair of handcuffs in the air. "I just found them!"

Terror swept through Michael's brain, as he thought about all of the possibilities. _Why would handcuffs be on an abandoned island? _He grabbed his son's hand protectively, causing his smile to fade with the knowledge that things were not okay. "Come on, let's get out of here…"

* * *

Not so long after that on the beach, chaos reminiscent of an earthquake took place. Klaus Mikaelson punched fellow crash survivor Sayid Jarrah's stomach, while Sayid furiously struck back at him. "Call me that again, I dare you."

"How dare you dare me. I can do whatever the hell I want." They spun around on the peachy sand, wrestling, "Who are you to defy me? We're on an island, and it doesn't look like anyone's gonna come and get us real soon. Do you want to know what that means?" Klaus smirked, blood dripping down his mouth. "No rules."

"No rules goes for both of us, you little-"

"Hey!" Michael shouted. "I think you're both gonna want to put your little personal wrestlemania on hold for a second." Stefan and Caroline walked over, curious. She leaned against a piece of wreckage, as Sayid and Klaus pulled themselves off each other. "My kid found these in the jungle."

Just then, he held up the item Caroline had been hoping, no, praying, he hadn't been talking about. He was holding up the item that could ruin the new start she'd created for herself on this bizarre, magical island. He'd held up handcuffs; her handcuffs. She had two options. She could make a run for it, climb up an old tree, and live out her days eating mangos. Or… She composed herself. Caroline took a deep breath, and then proceeded to make herself look shocked, no, disturbed. "Are those handcuffs?"

Klaus rolled his eyes. "What do you think, _sweetheart_? And I'm pretty sure I know who was wearing them." He looked at Sayid accusingly. "And it sure as hell wasn't the doctor."

With good reason, Sayid plunged onto Klaus, pulling out his hair, whispering just how good of a person he was to him. A circle gathered around them, watching their evening entertainment. Jeremy, Vicki, Matt, Bonnie, Hurley, Walt, Rose, Sun, Jin, and countless others stared, dumbstruck. Nobody knew what to do; nobody knew how to stop them, Nobody besides Caroline. Fury building up, she shouted, "_STOP_!"

It worked. Sayid and Klaus stopped fighting, in awe by the amount of strength this one person had within her. "We have bigger problems than this, and you both know it." She turned towards the crowd, pulling the transceiver out of Stefan's backpack. "We found a transceiver. It could get us off the island. Only, it's not working. Could anyone fix it for us?"

For a brief moment, nobody spoke. Then, Sayid raised his hand, shooting Klaus a dirty look. "I could maybe fix it."

Klaus clapped his hands together. "Bravo. Let's just trust the criminal, shall we?"

Caroline felt a little guilty, knowing that Sayid was getting the blame for what she'd done. But, she had to put herself before others. It was the only way she'd make it off the island alive. "We don't know what he hasn't or has done. He says, though, that he can help us. And I trust him. I think you should too."

He stormed off, angrily. "Whatever."

She chased after him. "Hey, I don't know what your problem is, but we don't have time for this. We need all the help we can get. It doesn't matter who we get it from; we're all on the same boat. If we want to get off this island anytime soon, we need to use all of our resources. _You _are one of those resources. Please, contribute. Don't waste your time fighting assholes when I know you're better than this. You… you have to be better than this."

He glared at her, kicking some sand as he stopped moving. "You think I'm such a good person, don't you? Well, I'm not. You really want to know what this so called good person underneath all of the bad has done? I'm a conman, Caroline. Nothing more, nothing less. I con people. I don't have a soul."

She shook her head, not believing him. "No. I've seen you, you know. With that piece of paper you carry around in your pocket. I've seen you open it up repeatedly, read it, and then carefully fold it up and place it back in your pocket. It means something to you. And anyone able to care about something, is capable of being saved."

"Capable of being saved, huh?" Klaus dug his hands through his pocket, reminding Caroline of those claw machines you saw at diners that picked up _Beanie Babies._ He crumbled the piece of paper, and threw it into her hands. "Read it," he spat.

Shaking, Caroline tried her hardest not to weep. "You don't have to do this…"

"Read it!"

"Dear Mr. Sawyer… you don't know who I am, but I know who you are, and I know what you done. You had sex with my mother and then you stole my dad's money all away. So he got angry, and he killed my mother. And then he killed himself too. All I know is your name. But one of these days, I'm gonna find you and I'm gonna give you this letter, so you remember what you done to me." She trembled a little, distraught. You killed my parents, Mr. Sawyer. From, Klaus."

Klaus looked away, ashamed. "You wanted to know what kind of man I am. That's the kind of man I am." He felt inside of his pocket once again, and pulled out an envelope. He tossed it onto the ground. "I don't need the envelope anymore. The paper is crumbled now anyway."

The two of them sat there for a minute, silent like the night. Two lost souls, two people with dark pasts, with nothing left to say, and nowhere left to go.

* * *

It had been almost two days since the crash. Survivors had begun to build themselves tiny huts, using the wreckage and giant leaves from trees as shelter. With not a boat in sight in the fizzy blue water that surrounded them, the hope of being rescued was beginning to diminish. It was still there, however, and Caroline knew that the only way she wouldn't get caught was if she pretended to want to get off the island like the rest of them. She tromped over to Stefan, who seemed to have his flirt on with a fellow survivor while managing the wounds of another. "I'm going on a hike," she announced, not bothering to excuse the other woman. The woman took matters into her own hands, and left.

"What are you talking about," Stefan asked, his face showing grimness, as if she was already dead. Dead. That was what Caroline would be if she pondered in the woods all by herself. His hazel eyes showed deep concern. "You know you'll die out there in the woods alone. That thing, whatever the hell it was, it's gonna get you."

She crossed her arms across her chest, offended by his lack of confidence in her. _I can handle myself, probably better than he can. Unless, of course, he's secretly a criminal as well. Then we've got problems. _After a moment, she snickered a little, amused by how protective he'd grown of her. "What, because I'm a woman I won't be able to handle myself? That's nice to know."

"That's not what I…"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Relax. I was kidding. Sort of. Though, it doesn't make me feel great that you're doubting my ability to take care of myself, even if we just met. Sayid's gonna come with me, anyway. He fixed the transceiver, Thank God, but it'll only work from high grounds. I wanted to know if you wanted to come with us."

He scratched his head, eyeing Bonnie, who was rubbing her very pregnant belly. His focus then returned to the poor man with the shrapnel stuck in him, who desperately needed his help . You know I can't. I'm the only doctor in the group, I've got to take care of everyone. But I want to take care of you too. So I will. With these words of advice: Caroline, if you see anything, hear anything… run."

With that, Caroline wandered over to Sayid. His curly black hair needed a severe wash, and he was beginning to smell. Actually, they all were. She made a mental note to check the pile of suitcases found in the luggage compartment for deodorant and perfume for everyone. "The others," he began. "They know about what happened with the pilot." Surprise attacked her face, causing Sayid to lead into further explanation. "You and the doctor may have been as silent as lambs, but your southern friend is telling anyone in exchange for an item from their suitcase."

_Well, he is a conman. A rather smart one, actually. Trading his secrets for supplies to keep for his own good. If there was a zombie apocalypse, I'd place my bet on him for longest survival span. _It then occurred to her that they themselves were in their very own form of a zombie apocalypse, one in which their survival rate was diminishing by the second. "If you know about the pilot, then you probably know what he said to us as well. Nobody's coming for us. They're all looking in the wrong damn place. So if you want to get off this island, which, I'm guessing you do, then you're gonna have to risk your life doing so. What makes us think that we're safe on the beach? The Monster could just walk out of the forest, and murder us all. Either way, we have a chance of dying. It's just up to us if we want to die huddled together like cowards, or being fighters. Because that's what we are, fighters. We survived an airplane crash, but we didn't let that stop us from slowly civilizing. From coming together as a group."

Sayid grinned, revealing his marshmallow white teeth. "How could I say no after you gave a speech like that?"

* * *

Victoria Donovan hugged her knees, heartbroken by the gory sight that laid before her. A yellowing dead man, with his terrified eyes wide open stared right at her, haunting the air around them. She'd never seen a dead body before. When her father had died, her stepmother had refused to let her or Matt to see his body in the casket. She'd always thought that the first body she'd ever seen would be her husband's, maybe when they were both seventy-five years old and gray with age. Now here this one was, and she was as young as twenty. Matt walked over, staring at her staring at the body. "What the hell are you doing, Vic."

Her focus remained on the body, and she refused to let the solemn expression on her face disappear as she answered him, "I'm mourning the dead. You should try it some time. I heard it's customary to do, oh, I don't know, _everywhere_."

He scoffed. "You didn't even know the guy." She didn't respond; it was as if she was in a parallel universe, yet her spirit had been left behind in this one. "We're moving aside some of the wreckage. You should help. I don't know if you know what helping is, considering you haven't had to work for anything your past twenty years of living, but I think we'd all be grateful." Vicki's mouth dropped, causing Matt to feel relieved. "Good, you can hear me."

"I've contributed before."

Matt snorted. "Yeah, sure you have. That is, of course, if contributing means ordering me around ever since my mother married your father. We're all mourning, Vicki. You don't think that at least half of the group lost someone yesterday? Because they have. The only difference is that they aren't giving themselves pedicures and crying over total strangers."

"Go fuck yourself," she hissed, reminding Matt of the pet dog he'd had when he was fourteen. No matter how hard he'd tried to train it, it never stopped biting him. One day, he had to give Buddy away. Meanwhile, Vicki's eyes flickered over towards Caroline and Sayid, who were packing up to go. "I'm going with them."

"Like hell you are."

"I am. And you can't do anything about it. See, this is me contributing." With Matt chasing after her, she walked over to them. "I'm going," she informed Caroline, with such force that she jumped a little.

"No she isn't." argued Matt. "She says things she doesn't mean a lot. We've had trouble controlling her, ever since she was a kid."

Vicki glared, while Sayid and Caroline turned their heads back and forth, struggling to keep up with their quarrel. "Oh, shut up, and stop trying to be the charming older brother. _I'm going." _Just then, Jeremy Gilbert passed by. Vicki noticed the small brown bag filled with powder in his pocket, and called him over. "Hey, you're coming, aren't you?"

Jeremy blushed a little, clearly smitten by her. "If you are, then yeah, I guess I am."

Caroline exchanged a hesitant glance with Sayid, and then sighed. "Fine, you can all come if you want. But we're leaving now. So don't slow us down, and keep up, 'cause we aren't waiting for you."

The five of them took off into the jungle, while Jeremy sang a few of his band's songs. The rest of the group remained on the beach, going about what would soon become their regular daily lives. Little did Caroline know, that they were being watched.

* * *

Klaus Mikaelson sat on a part of a shattered wing, being careful not to get hurt by sharp edges. Far away from the rest of the group to send the message that he was too cool for them, he smoked what he thought would be his final cigarette. Proving himself wrong, he smoked another cigarette, trying to keep her of his mind. But he couldn't. In such little time she'd gotten under his skin, and he couldn't shake her. How he wished he could stop thinking about her and the uneven ratio of freckles on each side of her face. Suddenly, he felt the urge to do something he'd done many times before throughout the years. He pulled his wallet from his back pocket. It was empty, apart from one thing. A folded piece of paper.

He read it slowly, taking in each word, letting each word imprint into his heart. Reading that letter made what was usual a tough guy vulnerable. His eyes teared up, and he knew what he had to do. He folded the note up, placed it and the wallet back into his pocket, and grinded the cigarette with his leather chukka boots. Speeding past a small kid using a dog leash as a lasso, he chased after Matt, Vicki, Jeremy, Sayid, and Caroline. Accidentally running a little too fast, he surpassed them revealing himself.

Her eyes locked with his. She didn't look pleased; not as pleased as he was to see her. "Sawyer. You decided to come. What made a soulless conman decide to become a part of the group?"

_You, _he wanted to say. _I came for you. _Lacking the courage to do so, he gave an obnoxious smirk. "I'm a complex guy, sweetheart." _There. That'll make her like you. Would it be so damn hard to be nice for once? _

"You know, you try too hard."

"Huh?" He led the way, leading them out of the jungle and onto a giant field of uncut green grass. It was a bumpy hill that none of them had ever seen before. The two of them led the group, who were lurking far behind them.

"To be a bad guy. You claim to have done all of these terrible things, and then you risk your life coming out here with the rest of us? No, I don't buy your act. Try all you want but I know there's a person in there somewhere." She gave a toothless smile of understanding, making Klaus have to cover his face to keep himself from revealing a smile of his own.

"Believe what you want, Freckles."

"Don't you worry, Klaus," she pouted teasingly. "I will."

"We'll see about-"

"I knew it. You just responded to Klaus. Which means… I was right." Klaus looked at her, startled. "After our conversation, I kept thinking about you. Trying to figure out why you act the way you do. I'd kept the envelope from the letter, don't know why. Anyway, when I looked at it, that's when I saw. It was America's bicentennial, in Knoxville, Tennessee. You were only a kid then. Your name's not Sawyer, his is."

He glared, hating the fact that someone really knew him, knew his story. A part of him was relieved, though. She seemed like someone he could trust, someone he could talk to eventually about anything. _It's hard to find trustworthy people these days… _"Caroline, you don't know the full story. After he screwed over my family, took away everyone that mattered to me, I made it my goal to find him one day. So I wrote him a letter, one that I intended to read to him one day. But wait, there's more. When I was a teen, I needed some money to pay off some guys I'd gotten in trouble with. So I found a pretty woman, and convinced she and her husband to give it to me. Isn't that sad? I became the man I had sworn to kill. I became Sawyer."

Caroline had never thought she'd ever find someone just as messed up as she was. She reached out her hand, trying to comfort him. "Hey, I didn't-"

"Don't. Just don't, Caroline." Gaining momentum, he ran as fast as he could, getting away from her and the emotions that came along with her.


End file.
